Right, another new story. I completely understand that I'm probably killing myself here with the number of multi-chapters I've got, but I just can't stop the plot bunnies :(. For those of you who are worried about the fate of my other stories, fear not (or a little, depending on how often you expect me to update), I'm fully intending to continue all of them, and only a couple of my multi chapters are on hold for serious writer's block. BOWE and BL are currently taking a backseat to NNLK, which is about 50 percent done, so expect it within a couple months (or possibly earlier, depending on how fast words come to me. I'm not exactly proud of it, but I'm mostly a stream of consciousness writer).
Everyone who reads this should keep in mind that this is a crossover with the Touhou series of games, made by Shanghai Alice, a.k.a. ZUN. Information to probably most of your questions can be found on the wiki, which can be found by simply googling touhouwiki (it'll be the first or second link). I'll also be more than happy to answer any other questions you have. Just drop a review.
Oh, and if anyone seems OOC, please tell me. Yukari Yakumo is rather hard to write and I might have messed up everyone else trying to do her justice. I assure you all I don't mean to. I'll try and fix any problems as soon as possible.
Disclaimer:...
Chapter 1: Eastern Youkai Beauty
It was late into the evening and Yakumo Yukari had finally woken up. Being a youkai who was rather partial to being nocturnal (though she could easily be diurnal as well), she naturally enjoyed the late night stars. Thusly, that night she had her shikigami procure a rather special bottle of sake from her stores, because tonight she felt like viewing the stars from someplace different and had decided to make an event of it.
"Come, Ran. I want to find a suitable place before the skies turn fully dark. Oh, and bring Chen, too." The youkai of boundaries said. So saying, the three youkai took flight and headed to the highest place in gensokyo, Youkai Mountain.
After finding a suitable spot, the three touched down, Yukari almost immediately opening the bottle and pouring herself a saucer and offering another to Ran. Time passed, and the night had reached its apex a while ago. Half of the bottle had already been polished off as Yukari and Ran sat and stared at the sky, talking about mysterious things no normal human could understand. Meanwhile, Chen, who was playing nearby (she didn't seem to understand their conversation either and was quite bored), had run off without the other two's notice, entranced by a blue butterfly that almost seemed to glow in the moonlight.
Of course, the other two, who were like parents to the young demon, had only noticed this once the sake had run out, and had immediately started searching for her, albeit in a rather lackadaisical and sloppy manner.
They found her in due time, and were greeted with the brightest of smiles when they did. It seemed that Chen did not only find the butterfly she was chasing, but a whole host of others as well.
The two made to join her in the middle of the field, but Yukari had only taken a step before she was filled with a strange feeling. It wasn't dread or anything overly negative like that, but it felt strange, like it was completely familiar to her, but at the same time didn't belong in this place. Yukari looked around, not noticing Ran's worried look. It only took her a minute to see the small border a bit behind the clearing, in front of a small cave. Yukari's only thought as she strode purposefully towards the border, not even noticing the two worried shikigami, was that 'I didn't put that border there, and it certainly doesn't give off the pure feeling of one of Reimu's…whose border is this?!'
Reaching the border, she reached out her hand and touched it, the two shikigami staring behind her in wonder. "What kind of border is it, Yukari-sama?" Ran asked.
"I don't know, but it feels strong and flexible, like a good piece of rubber. It feels like it can bend a lot either way, maybe even let a few objects slide through, but it won't break. This is certainly a border erected by a skilled and powerful youkai. The question is, who? I don't know anyone in Gensokyo that can forge borders like this." Yukari replied.
At this point, Chen was feeling rather lost, and so contented herself by just nodding and pretending to understand. "I see" Ran said, "then what will you do with it, Yukari-sama?"
"Hmmm…"Yukari smirked, "Let's go and see where this leads. Ran, you and Chen are coming too, this time. You have my parasol, yes?"
"Yes, Yukari-sama."
"Then let's not keep the other side waiting." Without further ado, Yukari forced apart the border and made a passage through it, allowing the three of them to pass through safely. Closing the border behind them, Yukari looked around to see that they were atop a huge mountain, overlooking a rather bustling village of unfamiliar build. 'Hmmm…' Yukari thought 'this place looks rather modern, like the outside world. But at the same time, it reminds me greatly of the human village back in Gensokyo. What exactly is this place, I wonder? Well, at any rate, it looks interesting. I think I'll stay for a while.'
They jumped down silently. Using their ability to fly, the three were able to control their fall and land gently some ways away from the edge of the village. Yukari opened her parasol and started walking, the two shikigami trailing behind her on either side.
When they reached society, what they saw seemed to them a paradox. The format of the streets and market were heavily reminiscent of the human village in Gensokyo, but there were many items that looked more at home in Rinnosuke's shop, Kourindou, or more precisely, the outer world.
Staring around in wonderment, Chen reacted as any child would after seeing something for the first time. Spreading her arms out, she proceeded to run every which way, laughing brightly and checking out everything the little girl could. While normally, people would find this adorable, it seemed the people in this place did not take well to her presence, or any of theirs, for that matter, as they all stared suspiciously, whispering to themselves.
"There, do you see them?"
"Are those two demons? What gall to stride in here so naturally!"
"Yeah! And that girl, is she a cat? And with two tails, no less!"
"Look, the other one is a nine-tailed fox!"
"But who's that girl in between them? Is she their hostage? She looks so noble with her parasol, but her clothes are completely strange."
Of course, the day wouldn't have been complete without some jackass Chuunin running in to mess everything up. He almost seemed to come from the sky as he leapt off the roof of a nearby building, kunai in hand, intending to run Ran through as he came down. He was dodged, of course, with ease. Standing up while the dust was still settling, the Chuunin yelled, "Heh, so another demon fox, eh?! Come for you filthy little friend? Well, you'll have to get past me, first!" So saying, the Chuunin once again rushed towards Ran, who proceeded to dodge, face filled with boredom.
Looking around at her master, Ran only muttered one word, "Yukari-sama?"
The youkai of borders wasn't even paying attention as she said, "Crush him, Ran.", as she had noticed Chen eyeing one of the pastries on sale in one of the booths. Opening a gap into someone else's pockets, she took their money and paid for the little nekomata's snack.
Meanwhile, Ran had flown up high into the air, "Heh, weakling humans. To think that you could challenge any of us! Only the first one would do, Shikigami: Wizard Fox Thoughts!"
To the Chuunin, who was utterly unschooled in the ways of danmaku, it appeared that the demon threw something that, halfway between them exploded into many glowing green and yellow leaf-like projectiles, which again exploded and produced more projectiles, which once again exploded, and by effect flooding the immediate area of the Chuunin with bullets. The entire display would have been beautiful in the extreme to the Chuunin had it not been for the fact that they were aimed at him as well.
Too stunned to move, that proved to be his saving grace as the projectiles impacted harmlessly around him, though they were so dense (and some so uncomfortably close) that he had no doubt that, had he moved, he'd be six feet under.
Ran, however, was incredibly amused, "Oh? So you had the sense to be able to dodge that. Be honored! You're the first regular human to have survived to my second spell card! Shikigami: Banquet of 12 General Gods!"
The Chuunin only had a moment's reprieve before Ran suddenly burst into brilliant light, glowing projectiles of all shapes and sizes spread out in great, arcing patterns. This time, everything was hit, buildings, civilians, and the Chuunin the spell was aimed for.
In the aftermath, when Ran had finally touched ground, one could see the girl (Yukari) approach the Kitsune, parasol in hand, the nekomata trailing at her heels. "Nice, Ran." She stated simply.
With that, the Kitsune bowed deeply, "Thank you, Yukari-sama."
Unbeknownst to the group, they were being watched by a blonde of about twelve. Clad in a black T-shirt and orange pants, he looked in wonder from the shadows as the battle passed, and remained awed afterwards as well.
It is often rumored that to battle with a youkai was to produce beauty in destruction, and to Uzumaki Naruto, this rumor had just been substantiated. He had originally come here to see what all the fuss was about, as villagers everywhere had been talking about demons in the marketplace, and had half expected to see Gaara, the boy whom he had met but a couple weeks ago, by the sheer fact that he seemed so incredibly evil and murderous.
However, seeing actual youkai at the marketplace surprised and scared him, and he was still considering whether or not to go over and stop the poor chuunin that attempted to confront them when the fox started attacking with what seemed like motes of brilliant light in the most beautiful of patterns. Slow, fast, slow, fast, the sight was mesmerizing to Naruto as he gazed on, entranced at the power he was witnessing.
It wasn't long after the chuunin was utterly destroyed that the Hokage, along with a squad of accompanying ANBU, arrived to assess what happened. The youkai, who were now loitering, not knowing where else to go, were thusly unable to (or quite possibly, unwilling to) escape being subjected to questioning.
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Yukari looked up as she noticed what seemed like people literally poofing into existence in front of her. Amused at what she saw, she decided to...entertain herself for a little bit with them. Luckily for her, she didn't have to do anything as upon spotting her, they immediately approached her.
The robed one, who seemed to be the leader, was the one to speak to them (while the others just tried to look intimidating). "Are you the ones who caused this chaos?"
Yukari was still smiling absently as she said, "No, it was just Ran."
Said fox demon perked up in surprise, "Yukari-sama! Don't pin this on me!" she said in a winy voice.
Yukari seemed unaffected by her shikigami's outburst as she continued smiling, though now looking expectantly at the Hokage.
All was silent for a moment before Sarutobi started, "Ah, yes, sorry. I'm the Hokage and leader of this hidden village, Konohagakure no sato, and you may call me Sarutobi."
"I am Yakumo Yukari."
The third waited a little longer to see if she was going to add anything, but after a few moments of blank staring and smiling, he finally got the picture and moved on, saying, "Let's go talk about this at my office."
A little while later, Yukari was to be seen sitting contentedly in the largest chair in the Hokage's office. That is to say, the Hokage's chair itself. Only half a minute or so passed before the Hokage himself barged in through the doors (as his office was sealed against poofing, a.k.a.: shunshin), eyes wide at the sight in front of him, "tte-OI! Why are you in my seat?!" then, shaking his head, he revised his question, "No, wait…How did you get here so fast?!"
Yukari simply smiled mysteriously. "My, my, didn't I introduce myself already? It won't do to be forgetting me so easily, your lordship." She said mockingly. "I am the youkai of boundaries, Yakumo Yukari!"
"…huh?" the Hokage asked, "Youkai of boundaries? What does that mean?"
"Ah, but that is the question, isn't it? Okay," Yukari said, looking extremely smug, "I'll explain it just once, so listen well. I am the youkai of boundaries, meaning that I am a youkai that has the power to manipulate boundaries, yes? It's all in good logic. I can't be bothered to explain why if you don't understand. You do understand, yes? Good." Yukari, seemingly excited at the prospect of being able to explain her powers (likely because she never got many visitors in Gensokyo, and even less who were interested in actually visiting and giving company rather than coming in order to achieve something), wasn't talking too fast by any stretch of the word, but was instead talking so continuously that the third could not reply to any of her questions, leaving him dumbfounded as he wondered how she was able to talk so much upon a single subject.
"Now," Yukari continued, now seemingly completely oblivious to the third's presence, "many humans, naturally being what they are would not have in their mindset or in the scope of their (limited) imagination the enormity of this power. In my many years of existence, I have come to realize just how close this power brings me to a god. You see, this world is made of and founded upon boundaries." By now, the third was both captivated and confused by the youkai's explanation, as it introduced theories and definitions that honestly had never occurred to him before.
"What is a boundary, you ask? A boundary is the separation, or, in other words, the distinction between two things, two entities, if you will. For example, the boundary between you and me, the boundary between here and there, the boundary between the earth and sky. Boundaries encompass all these things, and boundaries can be witnessed every where and every when, between everything vague and everything solid. Looking at it from a different angle, boundaries pose the answer to the question, 'where does one end and the other begin?' Thusly, I, with the ability to manipulate these boundaries, can open a hole between them (making a portal), make the boundary impassable (making a barrier), or even shrink or stretch the boundary so far as to merge the two sides or pull them apart. I could, if I was willing, merge the earth and the sky, or pull the world apart at its seams, or even pull people apart or squish them to the size of an atom. So as you can see, this power in fact gives me free reign to destroy the world if I so choose. So then, have I answered you question?"
The third, for his part, was rather dumbstruck by the long and rather amazing explanation. Not being able to speak at the moment, Yukari seemed to take his silence as an indication of his cluelessness. Sighing, Yukari snapped her fingers, the nine-tailed fox that was with her earlier reappearing at her side, "Ran, go and fetch some tea. Make it Darjeeling, scalding hot. Then you can go with Chen to find a place to stay."
It didn't take long for Ran to come back with her master's order, only to be hit over the head with the gap youkai's parasol, "What did I tell you, Ran? I wanted Darjeeling, not Green."
"But Yukari-sama, I-"
"No buts, Ran. Now, go and find a suitable residence or else next time I may not be so lenient."
"…Yes, Yukari-sama…" Ran bowed with a sad face, before leaving out the window.
"You shouldn't treat your people like that. It might come back to haunt you." The hokage said.
Yukari looked surprised for a moment before saying, "Oh, that's alright. Ran isn't a person (youkai), she's a shikigami."
The third considered arguing the point that while Ran may indeed be a shikigami, she was still a demon, but he had a distinct feeling that the rather strange female would just rout it back to Ran being a shikigami, so he let it go. So, while Yukari once again lapsed into a simpler, but still more detailed explanation of her powers, Sarutobi could only wonder why she was doing so when she just about half an hour ago said she'd only go over it once.
In the end, Sarutobi managed to squeeze absolutely no answers about where they came from, what they were here for, or even who they were (though he knew their names and more, he still had a feeling that he was missing something about their identity). Instead, he got a long and detailed lecture on the properties on manipulating borders, until Yukari, finally becoming bored, just up and left of her own accord. Yawning, the third opened the door to his estate and stepped inside, hoping that he wouldn't have to get up early tomorrow for work.
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Meanwhile, Yukari was enjoying the stars while happily downing a bottle of hot sake on the porch of a rather traditionally oriented house. Personally, she felt that Ran had done an unusually outstanding job, having found housing that fit her tastes perfectly. However, the youkai mistress chalked that up to the place they were in.
The house that Ran had found was a one-story, traditional house with sliding doors and the like. The house came fully furnished and stocked, which meant that Yukari wouldn't have to do anything to make the place more livable, and she could spend her days (or nights, as the gap youkai tended to be nocturnal, only wandering around during the daytime when it suited her) lazing around with a bottle of sake readily in hand. However, there was only one thing wrong with the house.
That is, it was inhabited.
So of course Yukari had spent no time in deporting everyone outside, putting up a border that lengthened the distance between it and the rest of the neighborhood and placing a spell that messed with a person's sense of direction, making the distance all but impassable. It should be noted that Yukari had absolutely no qualms about doing this without prior notice as she viewed humans as nothing more than convenient sources of entertainment and had forgotten all about them as soon as she was finished putting up the barrier. After all, as far as she was concerned, this was now her house, and anybody who wanted in would be brought in at her own leisure, completely disregarding the other party's feelings, of course.
However, what she didn't know (and in all likelihood didn't care) was that she had just taken the house belonging to the main family of the Hyuuga clan.
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At this exact moment, in the slums of Konoha, Naruto left his house, determined to get some answers about his tenant (and possibly some training) out of the nine-tailed fox that he saw earlier in the day.
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